Crossword Genius

Funny individual repairs little houses here in large, open areas (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

prairies

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'areas' is the definition.
(prairie is a kind of area)

'funny individual repairs' is the wordplay.
'funny' indicates anagramming the letters.
'individual' becomes 'i' (Roman numeral for one).
'i'+'repairs'='irepairs'
'irepairs' with letters rearranged gives 'PRAIRIES'.

'little houses here in large open' acts as a link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may belong to another bit of the clue.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for prairies that I've seen is " Treeless grassy plains".)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app